Participated by PKK members from 15 sub-districts in Makassar, this competition aims to spread the inspiration of nutritionally balanced dishes by highlighting the pride of Makassar City, namely the Bolu Fish variations as the main star. This competition reached its peak with the “Royco Ibu Juara 2024 Awarding Night”, which was also enlivened by the presence of famous singer Inul Daratista.
Ilham Chairat, Senior Brand Manager, Royco explained: “Based on the Indonesia Brand Footprint 2024 report released by Kantar Division World Panel, Royco, the number one seasoning brand in Indonesia, is recorded to be chosen by 8 out of 10 Indonesians – including millions of families in the beloved city of Makassar. To show their appreciation for this loyalty and trust, Royco continues to present the 'Royco Ibu Juara' competition, which was first held last year and has received tremendous and enthusiastic support.”
Located on the coast, Makassar is known as the City of Makan Enak because there are so many rich seafood products that are processed by the people into various appetizing specialties, including Bolu Fish, which is appointed as the star of the “Royco Ibu Juara 2024” competition.
In collaboration with the government, the Makassar City Movers Team, since last August Royco has familiarized more than 1,150 women in 15 sub-districts with this competition. One of the activities is educating them on how to Fry Bolu Fish in simple, practical ways: just using Royco without additional basic seasoning.
“We educate mothers in Makassar on how to prepare and serve delicious, nutritious and practical fish dishes for the family using Royco, which is not only made from long-boiled chicken but also rich in quality ingredients. We understand that preparing fried fish – one of the favorite dishes of Makassar families – is sometimes quite challenging if the seasoning is not right. But with Royco, which is rich in spices, the fish marination process is now easier because it becomes much more savory, rich and nutritious,” Ilham explained.
Ikan Bolu was chosen because it is the most produced seafood in Makassar and very easy to obtain, so it is hoped that the inspiration provided can be applied daily by mothers at home. In addition, Royco wants to help educate mothers on preparing practical and nutritious dishes for their families with Royco.
Mrs. Indira Yusuf Ismail, SE as the Head of PKK Makassar city, said this about the collaboration: “Although Royco is already widely known in mothers' kitchens, I believe these recipes have demonstrated that this activity can enrich tastes and show the superior quality of Makassar’s cuisine. Through the 'Royco Ibu Juara 2024' competition, I hope mothers can gain new skills in terms of processing food ingredients, especially fish, and improving the quality of daily cooking at home so that it becomes more nutritious.”
After being familiarized with the program, more than 150 mothers joined the competition and finally 50 semifinalists were selected to compete with each other in their skills and creativity to prepare Ikan Bolu. This took place at Karebosi Field on September 7.
The judging was done directly by the Head of PKK of Makassar City, the famous culinary expert in Makassar, Chef Hendro Lawalata, and Mrs. Istriati Natsir, the winner of “Mrs. Royco Juara 2023”. There were also other fun activities, such as the “Gurih Gurih Mantap” Yell Competition, which hundreds of PKK women from 15 sub-districts of Makassar took part in to support the contestants.
As the peak event, the “Royco Ibu Juara 2024 Awards Night” was held on September 8 at the Four Points Hotel Ballroom. The five winners with the best Ikan Bolu goreng creations were selected to receive cash awards worth a total of Rp30 million.
One of the winners, Mrs. Andi Fadilah Rizki Rifai, Head of TP PKK from Ujung Tanah Sub-district, Makassar, stated: “Alhamdulillah, I can be one of the winners in this competition. I was inspired by the recipe from Royco, then tried various modifications until I finally got the most suitable results.”
“It turns out that cooking Ikan Bolu is not difficult; the seasonings are also simpler because there is Royco, which is rich in flavor. Thank you very much Royco! This competition can hopefully be held again in Makassar so that more mothers can receive help to cook these recipes more easily, with delicious and nutritious results.”
The event was also enlivened by the appearance of famous singer Inul Daratista who also expressed her support: “Every time I visit the city of Makassar, surely eating various fish dishes is definitely a mandatory agenda that I never miss. Fried Bolu Fish is one of my favorites, and it's great that now the variations are even more complete thanks to the ingenuity of the champion mothers who won this competition. Congratulations to the winners, hopefully it can inspire other moms to be creative in creating nutritious dishes!”
“We hope that the 'Royco Ibu Juara' competition can bring Royco closer to the hearts of Makassar mothers and families and inspire them to understand the importance of making delicious, nutritionally balanced dishes. See you at the next Royco event!” Ilham concluded.